Michigan state government can save $287M with new tech

With a desk full of monitors, web designer Ranee Bradish works in her state Department of Technology, Management & Budget office in downtown Lansing on Thursday. Public-sector tech employees work with much of the same technology as those in the private sector, plus public employees work on projects that affect millions of state residents. But states still struggle with recruitment because they can’t pay what private firms can.(Photo: Rod Sanford/The Lansing State Journal)Buy Photo

LANSING — Michigan state government could save nearly $287 million over five years by using more automatic technology for both state employees and residents, according to a new report from a tech think tank.

By making more government functions more automatic, all 50 states could increase productivity to the tune of a combined $11 billion, the Washington-based Information Technology & Innovation Foundation said in a report out Tuesday. The report pegged office support and financial operations as the easiest to automate, but said there were opportunities for automation in management, legal and transportation functions, as well. Other government functions, such as protective services, media production and forestry services were less prone to tech upgrades, the report said.

With a former computer company executive in the governor's office, Michigan has pushed government technology — the report highlighted the state's online human resources tool for state employees as an example of what works — but the report shows there's still room to improve.